Craig Terry, Piano
Grammy Award winning pianist and arranger Craig Terry enjoys an international career regularly performing with the world’s leading singers and instrumentalists. Currently Craig serves as Music Director of The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago after having served for eleven seasons at Lyric as Assistant Conductor. Previously, he served as Assistant Conductor at the Metropolitan Opera after joining its Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.
Craig has performed with such esteemed vocalists as Jamie Barton, Stephanie Blythe, Christine Brewer, Janai Brugger, Lawrence Brownlee, Nicole Cabell, Sasha Cooke, Eric Cutler, Danielle de Niese, Joyce DiDonato, Giuseppe Filianoti, Renée Fleming, Christine Goerke, Susan Graham,Denyce Graves, Bryan Hymel, Brian Jagde, Joseph Kaiser, Quinn Kelsey, Kate Lindsey, Amanda Majeski, Ana María Martínez, Eric Owens, Ailyn Perez, Nicholas Phan, Susanna Phillips, Luca Pisaroni, Patricia Racette, Hugh Russell, Bo Skovhus, Garrett Sorenson, Heidi Stober, Christian Van Horn, Amber Wagner, Laura Wilde, and Catherine Wyn-Rogers. He has collaborated as a chamber musician with members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra, the Gewandhaus Orchester, and the Pro Arte String Quartet.
Craig’s 2022-23 recital performance schedule includes more than forty concerts in North America, Europe, and Asia with artists including Katherine Beck, Ben Bliss, Christine Brewer, J’Nai Bridges, Lawrence Brownlee, Andriana Chuchman, Joyce DiDonato, Christine Goerke, Will Liverman, Ana María Martínez, Whitney Morrison, Richard Ollarsaba, Susanna Phillips, David Portillo, Patricia Racette, Hugh Russell, and Laura Wilde.
He is Artistic Director of “Beyond the Aria,” a highly acclaimed recital series now in its ninth sold-out season, presented by the Harris Theater in collaboration with the Ryan Opera Center and Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Craig’s discography includes five recently released recordings: “Diva on Detour” with Patricia Racette, “As Long As There Are Songs” with Stephanie Blythe, “Chanson d’Avril” with Nicole Cabell, and “French Horn Recital from 24 Preludes, Op. 11 – Alexander Scriabin” with Lyric Opera principal horn Jonathan Boen. His latest recording project with Joyce DiDonato, “Songplay,” released by Warner Classics, received the 2020 Grammy award for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album.
He has appeared on numerous television, radio, and streaming programs, including multiple appearances on both “Live from Lincoln Center” and “Great Performances” for PBS, as well as on many programs broadcast on NBC, ABC, and CBS. In May 2021, he was the pianist for the Metropolitan Opera’s “Wagnerian Stars Live in Concert,” transmitted from the Hessisches Staatstheater in Wiesbaden, Germany. Craig hails from Tullahoma, Tennessee, received a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Tennessee Technological University, continued his studies at Florida State University, and received a Masters of Music in Collaborative Piano Performance from the Manhattan School of Music, where he was a student of renowned pianist Warren Jones.